If likability wins elections the Democrats have a powerful asset in Joe Biden. Of the 4 major personalities of the two parties in this years election I see Joe as the most virtuous. Of course I don’t know the Republican vice-president choice, but I think I do. I don’t know, or have ever met Biden personally, but have followed his career since the vast tragedy at his entry into the Senate. Here is a man well regarded by his collegues; philsophy notwithstanding. He was a good friend of Jessie Helms, senator of North Carolina, and spoke at his funeral. Some of Helms collegues would keep their distance, but not Biden. I would say ole Jessie was a pretty good judge of character. Biden will be called a Liberal of high ranking this fall. And, unfortunately, he has the votes to support that analysis. Biden did vote against partial birth abortions. Obama, in the Illinois legislature, supported partial birth abortions. He has since tried to weasel out of the vote with no success. You would like to think Biden and others were liberals and not Liberals. That, he didn’t deserve the upper case. That there must be a lapse of thought development or something on some decisions. Still, there is the vote pattern. Both Biden and Obama voted against Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts. It has been argued that we have a liberal tradition in America, but that is a far stretch from Liberalism. Liberalism is an ideology. An ideology that has had difficulty with the original meaning of the Constitution. If you want a snapshot of the difference between Liberalism and liberalism you can look at the Supreme Court since Earl Warren, former chief justice (Eisenhower’s biggest mistake). His court staged the beginnings of American Liberalism. Addressing exigencies and equipping the country for future threats, by way of the written political process, generally fall under liberalism. I know about Biden’s plagiarism, but he still measures against the general lot up there. Congress is no convent! There are people up there now trying to stay out of jail, such as Stevens of Alaska. Incidently, Stevens just won his primary with 68% of the vote. Nobody said voters couldn’t be “had”. Like everybody else I have complained about the quality of the choices for high office. However, this year I have my favorite Democrat in Biden, and with McCain my co-favorite Republican along with Cobun of Oklahama. The more I learn about Obama the more suspicious I become, but i know he too has qualities and apparently outstanding instincts.